


open up the door for you

by inlovewithimpossibility



Series: smoaknhawke backstory [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alcohol, Alcohol-Clouded Decisions, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Pre-S7 Flashforwards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22118734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/pseuds/inlovewithimpossibility
Summary: A random evening with a little too much whisky leads to Mia opening up to Connor about where she comes from and a little bit more.
Relationships: Connor Hawke/Mia Smoak, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak (mentioned)
Series: smoaknhawke backstory [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592068
Comments: 26
Kudos: 68





	open up the door for you

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This one takes place about a year after the events of 'sugar and smoke rings' and a year before the events of the s7 flashforwards. I'm not too sure about this one so please let me know what you think in the comments. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: this fic contains consumption of alcohol and decisions that lead from that, nothing explicit.

It’s a random night about a year after Connor meets Mia that everything shifts between them.

He doesn’t stay with her all the time, his job at Knightwatch doesn’t allow it, but she’s still considered one of his assignments and that means every few days he has the evening to spend with the blonde girl who grows more integral to Connor’s life with every passing day.

Spending time with her may technically be part of his job, not that she’s aware of that, but making the trek through Star City towards the old abandoned office building feels less like an obligation every time. He looks forward to seeing Mia now and learning about the trouble she’s managed to get herself into since he saw her last.

He knows from Knightwatch that she’s back in communication with her mother, picking up odd jobs for her here and there around the city. A stolen processor here, a ‘lost’ microchip there, Mia’s stealthy but she’s not quite Knightwatch evading stealthy. Luckily, Connor’s parents have enough faith in Mia’s mother to let them fly under the radar.

There’s also the cage fighting. ‘Blackstar’ has quite the reputation now and, whilst Connor would never let her see, he sometimes worries about the injuries she manages to sustain. It seems each time he sees her she has a new scabbed over mark that she wears proudly like a battle scar. He has no doubt in her ability to protect herself, but he does worry about her ability to patch up a bad injury if she gets one.

Not many doctors out in these parts, especially ones that wouldn’t try and take advantage of a young and beautiful girl like Mia.

Connor deftly slips through the small crack in the boarded-up doorway before making his way up the stairs to the old CEO’s office Mia’s been using as her headquarters. He taps out the familiar tone of the pattern they’ve been using to identify each other so that he doesn’t get a knife to the throat when he enters.

“Hi Connor.” Mia smiles at him as he enters to see her sat on the couch that doubles as her bed. The room is a mess and Mia is holding a bottle of scotch. “Want to share?” She questions as she holds the bottle towards him and Connor smirks, moving to sit down next to her.

The next hour or so passes in a bit of a daze as the swigs of whiskey start to cloud Connor’s brain. Mia recounts her cage fights of the past few nights but when Connor questions what she’s been up to otherwise, she grows quiet, taking a deep breath as she stares out the window.

Connor frowns, wondering what has caused the sudden change in her attitude, but Mia surprises him once again with her next words.

“Do you know who Oliver Queen is?”

Connor freezes.

Mia has made no other indication in the almost year that they’ve known each other that she would _ever_ reveal where she comes from to him. It’s a risk and Connor knows that Mia knows that, it’s why to this point she hasn’t even looped _him_ in on the secret. Of course, he already knows, but he can’t help but feel like something’s about to change here.

“The Green Arrow?” Connor answers as casually as he can, hoping that he’s not revealing anything to Mia in his body language. She’s not the most observant of people when she’s not in fighting mode, he’s learnt, but he’s still utterly paranoid that this whole thing is going to come crumbling down around him.

“That’s the one,” Mia comments dryly, looking over at him with discerning eyes. They narrow after a second before she raises an eyebrow, turning to face him fully. “You’ve got to promise you’ll never tell anyone else this information.”

“Who have _I_ got to tell?” Connor snorts, trying desperately to not let her know that he most likely knows what she’s about to say. Mia takes no amusement from his joke however, her face remaining stoic.

“I’m serious, Connor.” She insists and Connor frowns, sitting up as Mia’s eyes get more desperate.

“Okay, okay, you got it. I promise.” He promises and Mia seems to practically melt as she nods, swallowing thickly. She fidgets for a moment, tucking her feet up underneath her before deciding against it and crossing them. She glances up at him before quickly averting her eyes, her hands fiddling in her lap.

“My full name is Mia Smoak-Queen, although I’m only supposed to go by Smoak. I’m the daughter of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak.”

Her voice is quiet but shaky, her eyes skittish as she tells him what Connor knows is her biggest secret. He may already know it but he also knows how big this is for Mia. She doesn’t let people in, Connor is the person she’s closest to, and he knows how much it means for her to open herself up in such a vulnerable way.

“Oh.”

That being said, Connor really doesn’t know what to say but from the way Mia’s face turns from pain to anger, he knows that wasn’t the right response.

“Oh? I tell you I’m the child of two of the vigilantes that ruined this city and all you can say is ‘oh’?” Mia questions, her hair whipping around her head as her eyes narrow but Connor freezes at her words.

He knows that Mia isn’t fond of vigilantes but he had no idea she places so much of the destruction around them on her parents’ shoulders specifically.

“Wait, you seriously think that?” He asks and Mia scoffs, reaching for the whiskey bottle to take another long swig.

“Have you seen this place?” She asks after a long sigh, her eyes drifting to the window with an expression somewhere between sad and angry. It’s funny to Connor that she’s so mad at her parents for having the exact same sympathies she does, for wanting to fix the same injustices as her. “It’s a mess and it can all be traced back to my parents thinking themselves heroic enough to fix it. All they did was make it worse and…”

“And?” Connor questions when she trails off, knowing there’s something deeper there, some fear or worry that’s playing at her.

“Forget it.” Mia shakes her head, blinking a few times before she takes a deep breath.

“Mia.”

“Seriously, forget it, Connor.” She shakes him off, swinging the bottle back up towards her mouth.

“Yeah, not happening.” He tells her and lunges towards her, using her surprise to his advantage so that he can loosen the bottle from her grip and snatch it away.

“Hey!” She yells, immediately clambering after him with a fire raging in her eyes. An angry Mia is one thing but an angry Mia you’ve separated from alcohol is a whole other beast entirely.

“Technically you shouldn’t even have this anyway. You’re only nineteen.” Connor reminds her, holding the bottle of whiskey above his head. Mia stops her scrambling, levelling him with an unimpressed look.

“Oh yeah, what are you going to do? Call the cops on me? Oh wait, there are no cops around here.” She questions with a raised eyebrow before smirking, crossing her arms over her chest in the way that Connor’s learned is her way of indicating she thinks she’s won an argument.

“Tell me what you were going to say, and you can have it back.” He presses, shrugging his shoulders as if it’s the easiest of solutions. Mia huffs, her eyes glancing up at the bottle of alcohol before her arms fall back to her sides and she slumps back into the couch.

“It’s dumb.” She assures him but Connor merely shrugs his shoulders again as he lowers the whiskey from above his head to place it just out of Mia’s reach.

“Even so.” Connor prompts and Mia huffs again, sending him a dirty look, but she does sit up a little.

She’s apprehensive, he can tell by the way she can’t sit still. He feels a little bad for pushing so hard now that it’s obvious this is something deeply personal to Mia. He almost tells her that it doesn’t matter but she’s taking a deep breath in before he can get the words out.

“It’s just… _annoying_ to me that my dad… he couldn’t save the city and he couldn’t be with me. He sacrificed both for the other and winded up with nothing. Then Mom and I had to bear the consequences.” She admits slowly, her jaw tight as she finally explains herself, but Connor melts as he notices it’s offset with her eyes swimming with tears.

Mia doesn’t often come across as young as she is. Her bravado adds on at least a few years but here, on this small couch with the moonlight streaming in through the window, he can see her as the girl she is. Nineteen, scared, away from the only parent and love she’s ever known. His heart goes to her and he wishes she wouldn’t freak if he wrapped her up in a comforting hug.

“That sounds a little more than annoying to me.” He comments, trying to keep his voice light and Mia looks up at him, her lips curling slightly with a watery chuckle.

She shakes her head slightly and Connor can tell she’s glad for him lightening the tone. He knows how hard it was for her to open up like that and she’s grateful at him for taking all the attention off of her. Their eyes meet and she smiles slightly, making Connor smile too.

He can’t leave it there, however, with her feeling so bad.

“You know your dad did his best, right? For a long time, he protected this city when no one else would. People around here blame vigilantes for the city falling apart because there’s no one else left to point blame at. The vigilantes were heroes.” He tries to tell her but Mia just shakes her head, turning away from him to secretly wipe away a tear.

“They made the city dependent on them and then they disappeared. They’re nowhere near heroes.” She bites bitterly and Connor takes a deep breath. He’s clearly not going to get anywhere tonight on this so he tries a different vein.

“So your mom’s still around then? Is she one of the mysterious people you’re always doing jobs for?” He questions and that gets Mia’s attention as she whips her gaze back to Connor. Her shock is evident on her face, her eyebrows furrowed and her jaw tight.

“How’d you…”

“Come on, Mia. You may be good, but no one makes that much money cage fighting.” He smirks, nodding his head towards the bottle of whiskey that, whilst not the most ostentatious of blends, couldn’t have been cheap around here.

Mia purses her lips, her gaze harsh for a long moment as she stares discerningly at Connor, before she sighs and her shoulders slump. “I may not be her biggest fan at the moment but she’s got a way of persuading me to help her.”

“She’s your mom, moms are the most persuasive people on the planet,” Connor smirks and Mia scoffs with a roll of her eyes.

“It’s just collecting tech things. Turns out all that training was just so I could be her computer part lacky.” She bites bitterly, her contempt clear and Connor sighs, not knowing what to say to comfort her.

So, he changes the conversation yet again.

“It does a pretty good job of defending you too.” Connor reminds her with a small smirk and Mia allows him a smile of her own.

“Maybe.” She admits, raising an eyebrow and holding his gaze for a long moment before she turns her gaze back to the window. “I thought you might look at me differently, now that you know.”

It’s Connor’s turn to freeze as her words sink in. Even if he didn’t know before, he can’t imagine ever judging Mia for her parentage. He likes her for who she is, all the fiery, stubborn, and wonderful parts that make her up.

“Why? You’re still Mia. I don’t care who your parents are, I care who you are.” He insists and Mia frowns. He can tell she’s unconvinced and he can see her walls fly back up around her, replacing her vulnerability with her usual bravado.

“And you know who I am?” She questions sternly, although her red-rimmed eyes and tear tracked face ruin her attempt slightly. Connor meets her stone wall with a teasing smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“I think I might have an alright idea.” He confesses but Mia stands strong, a discerning look on her face.

“Go on.”

“You’re headstrong, smart, extremely stubborn…” Connor starts but Mia interrupts with a loud snort.

“Oh, thanks.” She grins, shaking her head, and Connor laughs too, shifting slightly closer to her on the couch. The old cushion between them scrunches under the weight of Connor’s thighs but it still stands strong between them as a barrier.

Connor smiles at Mia, softening from the brightness of his laughter to a more tender twinkle. It earns him a nervous smile in return, Mia’s eyes confused as she searches his face. “But you’re also funny and deep down, way beneath all those walls you put up, you’ve got a really kind heart. You want to help people.”

Mia freezes, confusion in her expression as she takes a long, shaky breath. Her eyes search for something and Connor cannot read her feelings on her face as her eyes roam over him.

“Connor?” She finally questions and he looks up, his eyes widening with hope. For what, he doesn’t quite know, but for _something._

“Hmm?”

“Stop talking.”

Connor’s entire focus flips on its head as Mia suddenly pulls the pillow from between them and swings a leg over his lap to straddle him. His eyes widen as her sparkling green eyes move closer than he’s ever seen them before. From the new perspective, with the light of the moon pouring in through the large windows of the abandoned office building, Connor can see the small flecks of hazel that dance in the green haze of her irises. Her hands run up Connor’s arms to settle looped behind his neck and for once, her touch isn’t the deadly grasp he knows is capable of bringing down the largest of foes. No, this is soft and gentle and a little stuttered and scared.

“Mia…” Connor finally manages to breathe out, his confused eyes searching her determined ones for any indication of what this means. He’s not blind, Mia’s gorgeous and it’s certainly not as if it hasn’t crossed his mind in the past but there are so many secrets between them and Mia just isn’t in the right place right now. She doesn’t know who he is, why he’s really there, and she’s still not being completely honest to herself about what _she’s_ doing in Star City.

However, as Mia pulls back just a little, her bright eyes wide and that devilish smirk playing on her lips, Connor can’t think of anything else except how desperately he wants to kiss her. Her blonde curls shine in the moonlight around her face, highlighting her like a star.

_Blackstar._

“Don’t think. Just kiss me.” She tells him and Connor blinks. Maybe it’s the alcohol in his system or maybe it’s the incredible power he’s starting to realise she now wields over him, but in that moment, he cannot think of doing anything but throwing caution to the wind and following her instruction.

And as Mia leans forward to finally slide her full lips against his own, Connor knows that even if this is something they both regret in the morning, it will be worth it tonight.


End file.
